Access Yakima County Property Records

Yakima County property records are maintained by three county offices: the Assessor, the Auditor, and the Treasurer. These offices keep records of parcel values, recorded deeds and liens, tax accounts, and Real Estate Excise Tax transactions for all land in the county. Whether you are looking up ownership information, checking tax status, or searching for recorded documents in Yakima County, this page explains the right office to contact and the online tools available for your search.

Yakima County Property Records Overview

Yakima County is a large, agriculturally rich county in central Washington. It includes the city of Yakima, Selah, Union Gap, Sunnyside, Grandview, and large stretches of irrigated farmland and orchards. Property records in Yakima County are public documents under Chapter 42.56 RCW. The county uses a hybrid parcel search and map system that ties together Assessor, Auditor, and Treasurer data in one place.

The Yakima County Treasurer, Ilene Thomson, certified the 2026 tax roll pursuant to RCW 84.56.020 and scheduled 2026 tax statements to be mailed around February 9, 2026. First-half 2026 taxes are due April 30. The county offices are located at 128 N 2nd Street in Yakima, where a new drive-through facility is open for property tax payments from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This makes paying in person more convenient without needing to park and go inside.

Washington's budget-based property tax system means that increases in assessed value do not automatically generate more revenue for a taxing district. The tax levy is set based on the district's budget needs, and the rate adjusts depending on the total assessed value of all property in the district. The Yakima County Assessor publishes detailed explanations of how this works on the county website, including guides that let you follow the math yourself.

Yakima County Assessor

The Yakima County Assessor's Office handles all property appraisal and assessment functions for the county. Under RCW 84.40.020, all taxable property must be assessed at 100% of true and fair market value as of January 1 each year. The Assessor mailed Tax Year 2026 value notice cards to property owners starting September 19, 2025. The 2025 Tax Levy Booklet is also available on the county website.

The Assessor's website provides multiple search and lookup tools. These include a hybrid parcel search and map tool, a GIS mapping viewer, a characteristic parcel search, and sales searches broken out by property type. Sales searches cover residential, commercial, land, land with crops, condominiums, multifamily, manufactured homes, mobile homes, and property use categories. The Assessor also provides mass appraisal value models for 2024, 2025, and 2026 tax years so property owners can see exactly how comparable sales were used to set their value.

The Assessor administers several exemption and relief programs. Senior and disabled persons may qualify for property tax reduction if their 2024 gross household income was under $45,000. Income thresholds were recently raised to allow more residents to qualify. The office also handles open space taxation under Chapter 84.34 RCW, property tax relief for flood-damaged or destroyed property, personal property assessments, and boundary line adjustments. Property owners dealing with flood damage should contact the Assessor's office to find out what documentation is needed for a valuation adjustment.

The Assessor publishes several free Washington DOR guides on their site, including the Homeowner's Guide to Mass Appraisal, How the 1% Tax Levy Limit Works, and the Property Tax Exemption Pamphlet. These are useful if you want to understand the rules behind how your Yakima County property value and tax bill were calculated.

The Yakima County Assessor provides online parcel search, GIS mapping, sales data by property type, mass appraisal models, and exemption program administration for all real and personal property in the county.

Recording Documents with the Yakima County Auditor

The Yakima County Auditor records all real property instruments under RCW 36.22.010. This includes deeds, deeds of trust, mortgages, liens, reconveyances, easements, covenants, and plat maps. Recording your deed with the Auditor creates a public record and provides constructive notice under RCW 65.08.070 of your claim to the property. In an active real estate market like Yakima County, recording promptly after closing is standard practice for protecting your ownership rights.

The Auditor handles elections in addition to recording services. The Elections Division manages voter registration, military and overseas voters, ballot returns, and accessible voting services. For recording-related inquiries, contact the Auditor's office at the county building in Yakima. Yakima County also allows electronic recording for title companies and lenders who need to record high volumes of documents without visiting the office in person.

The Yakima County Auditor records all real property instruments including deeds, mortgages, and liens, providing both in-person and electronic recording options for the county's active real estate market.

Note: Contact the Yakima County Auditor's recording division directly to confirm current fees, formatting requirements, and eRecording options before submitting documents.

Yakima County Treasurer and Property Taxes

Ilene Thomson serves as the Yakima County Treasurer. The Treasurer's Office is at 128 N 2nd Street, Room 115, Yakima, WA 98901. Mailing address is P.O. Box 22530, Yakima, WA 98907-2530. The Tax Division is reachable at 509-574-2800 and cntytreasurer@co.yakima.wa.us. The Accounting Division can be reached at 509-574-2780 or treasacc@co.yakima.wa.us. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except holidays.

The Yakima County Treasurer's website covers all aspects of property tax collection and management. First-half 2026 taxes are due April 30, and second-half taxes are due October 31. The county offers paperless billing through eNoticesOnline.com. To sign up, locate your unique authorization code on your annual tax statement below your parcel number, then follow the steps at eNoticesOnline.com to register. If you need help, the Treasurer's help portal and office staff at 509-574-2800 can guide you through the process.

The Treasurer handles Real Estate Excise Tax under RCW 82.45 on all taxable property transfers and mobile home sales. The website provides REET affidavit forms, supplemental statements, and information on court-awarded property transfers. Tax foreclosure information, bidder details, surplus funds listings, and tax title property information are also on the Treasurer's site. Properties that go through tax foreclosure become tax title properties that can be purchased through an application process.

The Treasurer acts as the county's bank, managing funds for the county, school districts, fire districts, special purpose districts, and other units of local government. Financial reports including monthly, quarterly, and annual reports on tax collections and investments are published on the Treasurer's website. The office also maintains the county's debt management records and investment policy.

The Yakima County Treasurer collects property taxes, manages Real Estate Excise Tax, offers paperless billing through eNoticesOnline, and handles foreclosure proceedings and tax title property sales for parcels with delinquent accounts.

Additional Yakima County Property Resources

The Washington Department of Revenue's county directory links to the Yakima County Assessor and Treasurer websites and provides access to DOR publications on property tax administration. The DOR is also the state agency that oversees county assessors under Chapter 36.21 RCW and publishes training materials, assessment standards, and levy calculation guides used by all 39 Washington counties.

For historical Yakima County property records, the Washington State Digital Archives provides free online access to older deeds, plat maps, mortgages, and recorded instruments. These records cover Yakima County back to its territorial origins and are searchable by record type, date range, and party name. Chains of title that extend back several decades often require a combination of current county online tools and the Digital Archives to complete.

The MRSC property tax resource page offers a neutral explanation of how Washington's property tax system works, covering levy limits, Board of Equalization appeals, and exemption program details. It also links to relevant statutes and Attorney General opinions, which can be useful for property owners trying to understand their rights or the rules that govern how their Yakima County assessment was set.

Cities in Yakima County

Yakima County includes the city of Yakima, Selah, Union Gap, Sunnyside, Grandview, Moxee, and other communities. The following city has an individual property records page on this site.

Other communities in Yakima County include Selah, Union Gap, Sunnyside, Grandview, Wapato, and Moxee. All property records for land throughout the county are maintained by the county offices in Yakima.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Yakima County and each maintains its own property records system.